TAZARA train journey: Dar Es Salaam to Mbeya

All good things come to end they say.

Stone Town is a great place but we cannot stay forever. What we had was a holiday and a chance to get a fleeting glance of how Stone Town evolved from being one of the largest slave trading center into a melting pot of culture owing to its great location in the map and its rich history. 

After a few days, we once again had to pack our bags and hit the road taking a few mementos with us and lots of photos to document the great time we had in the the exotic island. I make it a point to visit museums everytime I go somewhere but this time, unfortunately, I was unable to. The museum was under renovation and was closed to the public.  We also had no time to hit the beaches up north but maybe one day. Who knows. 

We had to go back to Dar Es Salaam, for the next day the train would be waiting to take me back to Mbeya-- that is, if the timetable did not change. Upon arrival at Dar from Zanzibar, we headed straight to the train depot to buy myself a ticket. You know, just to make sure if there would really be a train tomorrow and that I get a seat. I have learned from previous experience!  I bought myself a ticket for the first class coach, meaning I would be sharing a cabin with three other ladies. Unless you are a family travelling together, the TAZARA train does not put together males and females in the same cabin.

We spent another night in Dar Es Salaam with a lovely missionary family. After an easy morning with my friend who decided to stay behind, I started off early in the afternoon. The train was scheduled to leave in the early evening but I was warned of Dar Es Salaam's horrendous traffic so I just had to be sure. Traffic was not as bad that day so I arrived at the depot early which I did not mind.  Early is better.Waited for a bit with the other passengers carrying all sorts of luggage. Most of them traveled from wherever they came from to purchase wholesale goods (mostly textile) at Dar Es Salaam which they would then sell back home at retail prices. 

I was the earliest to arrive in our cabin, so I had dibs on the bottom bunk. Shortly after I got settled, a young Japanese traveler came in and occupied the bunk opposite mine. The top bunks were soon claimed by two Zambian ladies who will be travelling until Kitwe, Zambia. It seems like in our group, I will be the first one to alight.

Our cabin. It has got bunks for four people.

The hallway

After the goods were all packed in the train, the passengers were comfortably ensconced in their bunks, the train blew off its horn and started chugging its way out of Dar Es Salaam.It did not start off exactly on schedule, but it was good enough. Not early enough for me to see animals at the Selous Game Reserve, though. We crossed the park in the dark of the night. To make up for it, the lovely ladies and I shared dinner and a couple of beers and just swapped stories. I still find it amazing that strangers when put together in closed confines would always find something to talk about. We went on for hours; I guess it was past 11 when we decided to turn in for the night but before we did, we had to make sure that the windows are tightly shut. We heard stories about robberies happening in the middle of the night when locals would just reach out through the windows and get whatever they could reach.

Woke up in the morning, to a motionless train. Some technical difficulties which sounded Greek to me. I just spent the time watching the landscape. Once in a while, we would have young children dangling through the windows some of the goods that they are selling--maize in a cob, chips.

A village we passed by...

Another village

And another!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We passed by Tanzanian rice fields with mountains from a distance. It is not actually that different from what you see in a bus when travelling in the lowlands of the Philippines. Impressive landscape. 

Lush greenery along the way

Rice fields

The train's restaurant

Our Zambian friends got tired of staying inside the cabin and wandered off to the restaurant. Us Asians, we just came to the realization that it was the last day of the year. We had barely enough time to mark it with a photo when I realized that we reached Mbeya. Once again, time to get off and board the bus to the border. Luckily, the bus was right there waiting at the train depot. It is not the one that goes straight to Malawi, it just brings us right at the border where I have to transfer to a different minibus. Another long journey but it's fine. Bus rides are always interesting.

Breakfast on the train. It is unappetizing as it looks. Very dry bread, too salty sausages, lukewarm coffee. I am not really complaining. It is either that or the chips being sold by the locals through the window.

Marking the end of the year.  By New Year's eve, I will be back in the warm embrace of Mama Malawi.

The end of the train journey for me. Two more bus rides to go. I hope to reach Songwe border before it closes at 5. Otherwise, I would have to wait in the morning before I can exit Tanzania.